Jokhang Temple

Included on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2000 as part of the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple is located in central Lhasa in Tibet.

 

It was first built in 647AD. In 641AD, 16-year-old Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty and her envoys, maidservants journeyed to Tibet and married Songsten Gampo, the ruler of Tibet. She brought with her a valuable statue of Sakyamuni as the most precious dowry. Songsten Gampo constructed the Ramoche Monastery for her to house the statue of Sakyamuni. It is said that the gate of the monastery faced east to show the princess’s nostalgia for her homeland. The Jokhang Monastery suffered from two serious disasters. One was the campaign of forbidding Buddhism, which was initiated by the nobles who believed in the primitive Bon religion in the late of 7th century; the other was the second campaign of forbidding Buddhism, which was launched by Langdama in the middle of 9th century.

 

The Jokhang Temple is a four-storey timber complex with a golden top. The image Palden Lhamo on the third floor is the one that visitors can’t miss. As the fierce protector of both Lhasa and the Dalai Lama, she is said to have murdered her own child to bring her husband and king to his senses and put an end to his endless military campaigns. The exquisite deer and wheel motifs on the roof are early symbols of Buddhism. Both allude to Sakyamuni’s first sermon, in which he "turned the wheel of the Dharma," delivered in a deer park in Benares. The deer and wheel symbols were especially prominent in early Buddhism, when followers were reluctant to depict the Buddha. Inside, the temple features ancient Newari door frames, columns, and finials dating from the 7th and 8th centuries. The most revered object in Tibet is Jowo Rinpoche, a image of the young Buddha, which originated in India and was brought with Princess Wénchéng as dowry. Many credit her with selecting the temple’s location according to the principles of geomancy (feng-shui). The image is flanked on both sides by the altars of Songtsen Gampo and his two wives who introduced Buddhism into Tibet. Note the more recent yab-yum images of sexual union in a chapel to the south. Many mistakenly believe tantric practice has no place in the "reformed" Geluk School, but Tsongkapa simply restated the principle that only advanced practitioners should engage in tantric sex.